Ukraine – National Team EURO 2021 – All Important Information
The Ukraine National Team have managed to book their place at the EURO 2021 after the astonishing achievement during the qualifications. They finished as unbeaten winners in their Group B, taking 4 points off defending champions Portugal National Team.
The team finished three points ahead of Portugal Team, and this will be their third consecutive Euros participation. When it comes to their two previous participations at the European Championship, Ukraine National Team was incapable of getting out of the group. In 2012, Ukraine finished third, while in 2016, the team finished fourth.
This time, at the 2021 European Championship, Ukraine will be playing in Group C, against Netherlands, Austria, and North Macedonia. Although these opponents are not the strongest teams which will participate at the championship, it raises the question of how many chances does Ukraine really have? What can we expect to see from this team?
Get to know all about the official football manager of the Ukraine National Team, their possible lineup, the full squad, tactics, schedule of matches, and more!
Football Manager of the Ukraine National Team
Andriy Shevchenko is the official football manager of the Ukraine National Team and the former football player and politician. He’s best known as a striker of Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea and the Ukraine National Team.
As a coach of the Ukraine National Team, we can definitely say that this is Shevchenko’s first major, senior managerial job. According to his extraordinary football career that spanned nearly 2 decades, it’s clear that Andriy is experienced enough to lead his team through this year’s European Championship.
Since 2016, when he was appointed as the manager of the Ukraine National Team, Shevchenko has managed to win 21 of his 44 matches so far. Under his command, in these matches, the Ukraine side averaged 1 goal every 66 minutes!
Perhaps the biggest success of Andriy Shevchenko so far is securing a place for his team at the European Championship 2020 (2021).
Ukraine Possible Lineup for the European Championship
Everybody would like to know the possible lineup of the Ukraine National Team in this year’s competition. What will the final lineup look like? What will Shevchenko choose? We predict the following lineup: Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar Donetsk) on the goal, Ruslan Malinovskyi (Atalanta), Mykola Matviyenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Serhiy Kryvtsov (Shakhtar Donetsk), and Oleksandr Tymchyk (Dynamo Kyiv) in defense. In the midfield we might see Taras Stepanenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Ruslan Malinovskyi (Atalanta), and Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City. As forwards, expect to see Roman Yaremchuk (Gent), Artem Besedin (Dynamo Kyiv), and Artem Dovbyk (Dnipro-1).
The Key Player of the Ukraine National Team
Atalanta’s midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi is considered to be the heartbeat of the team.
He is comfortable on both feet, fast enough, both physically and mentaly, He’s performance as a midfielder just behind the striker is nearly brilliant. Ruslan has appeared in 33 matches for Ukraine and he already has all that is necessary to help his squad at this major tournament.
Beside Malinovskiy, there is also the defender Mykola Matvienko, who is currently playing for Shakhtar Donetsk, and Andriy Yarmolenko, West Ham’s forward, who has managed to score 38 goals in 19 fewer matches. He will definitely be the biggest threat to opposing teams.
The Full Squad of the Ukraine National Team
Goalkeepers: Anatolii Trubin (Shakhtar Donetsk), Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Georgiy Bushchan (Dynamo Kyiv)
Defenders: Oleksandr Karavaev (Dynamo Kyiv), Denys Popov (Dynamo Kyiv),Eduard Sobol (Club Brugge), Vitaliy Mykolenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Mykola Matviyenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Illia Zabarnyi (Dynamo Kyiv), Serhiy Kryvtsov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Tymchyk (Dynamo Kyiv),
Midfielders: Ruslan Malinovskyi (Atalanta), Viktor Tsygankov (Dynamo Kyiv), Serhiy Sydorchuk (Dynamo Kyiv), Oleksandr Zubkov (Ferencvaros), Yevhen Makarenko (Kortrijk), Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham), Mykola Shaparenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Marlos (Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City), Taras Stepanenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Heorhii Sudakov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Roman Bezus (Gent)
Forwards: Artem Besedin (Dynamo Kyiv), Roman Yaremchuk (Gent), Artem Dovbyk (Dnipro-1)
Tactics & Form of the Ukraine National Team for the EURO 2021
Although Shevchenko likes to experiment (he used 6 different formations so far) we believe that he will use the 4-3-3. It is the system he has most often chosen for the previous matches so far. Nevertheless, Shevchenko is a very flexible coach who rotates his players very often. He has used 60 players so far.
Until now, the Ukraine National Team has played a counter-attacking style. Despite that, we believe that Shevchenko will choose a possession-based approach in the upcoming matches. He likes creative football with a balance.
“Players must understand when to attack and when to defend or control the ball, when to circle and when to give.” – he stated.
According to their unbeaten run in Group B, the team is in an amazing form. They’ve joined Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Denmark as unbeaten EURO 2020 qualifiers.
Schedule of Football Matches
Ukraine will be playing in Group C, alongside Netherlands, North Macedonia, and Austria. Here is the schedule of all matches:
Netherlands vs Ukraine – June 13
- Venue: Johan Cruijff ArenA – Amsterdam
- Kick-off time: 21:00h
Ukraine vs North Macedonia – June 17
- Venue: Arena Naţională – Bucharest
- Kick-off time: 15:00h
Ukraine vs Austria – June 21
- Venue: Arena Naţională – Bucharest
- Kick-off time: 18:00h